How do histories affect our work?

I just got back from doing a workshop with the Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities. Several participants spoke about the importance of beginning partnership with open discussions of history. Or should I say histories. The history of research in neighborhoods. The history of the universities and their relationship to the communities. This proposal to air out history came in the context of a discussion of trust-building activities. Trust, as we know, is a critical component of successful partnerships.

Is there another advantage to having a discussion of history early on? Would it help to frame the strengths of the community and the university, and the challenges both need to overcome in order to achieve health promoting change? Is it possible the discussion might actually uncover some interesting knowledge about the history of policies and their impacts on the community?

I recently met a young historian who specializes in criminal justice. She really opened my eyes to the potential value of that discipline to policy change. Understanding what has been done and how it was done informs our understanding of what can be done. Are there any partnerships out there who are working with historians or who consciously use history as part of their policy development process?